Genetic Genealogy Faces of America

by Janet Crain

Fire up the VCR, DVD recorder or Tivo for this series set to air beginning February 10, 2010. It sounds to be very interesting.

Famous 'Faces' explored with Henry Louis Gates

Kicking off February 10, Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. investigates the family history and DNA-tested ancestry of a dozen Americans: Elizabeth Alexander, Mario Batali, Stephen Colbert, Louise Erdrich, Malcolm Gladwell, Yo-Yo Ma, Mike Nichols, Queen Noor, Dr. Oz, Eva Longoria, Meryl Streep and Kristi Yamaguchi (pictured with Gates).

How many of the revelations were a surprise to Yamaguchi? "90 percent of it I didn't know...A lot is revealed."

She might have learned even more, but in Japan, where her grandparents are from, records are destroyed 75 years after the person's death. There were no such problems for Eva Longoria, whose American history can be traced to her family's arrival here in 1603; Yo-Yo Ma, who is presented with a document that goes back to 1217; or Queen Noor, whose family records go back to 476 AD.

Who will he do next? He doesn't know, but Gates thinks Sarah Palin would be fun. "Rogue DNA."

http://blogs.usatoday.com/livefrom/2010/01/faces-explored.html

Genetic Genealogy on Faces of America

Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. airs on Wednesdays, February 10 – March 3, 2010 from 8-9 p.m. ET on PBS.

Eva Longoria, Meryl Streep, Mario Batali, Stephen Colbert, Malcolm Gladwell, Yo-Yo Ma, Mike Nichols, Kristi Yamaguchi, Elizabeth Alexander, Queen Noor and Louise Erdrich have all submitted DNA tests for a new PBS television series FACES OF AMERICA.


http://www.eyeondna.com/2010/01/16/genetic-genealogy-on-faces-of-america/

Watch the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig_ji5vctyY&feature=player_embedded#

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Indian Slavery in Colonial Times Within the Present Limits of the United States

New York: Columbia University, 1913

Lauber, Almon Wheeler


OF the processes in vogue among the English for the acquisition of Indian slaves, the most productive was that of warfare.1 With the exception of the Pequot War and King Philip’s War in New England, the Indian wars in the English colonies were confined to the south, and there the greatest number of Indian war captives were enslaved.


After the Indian massacre of 1622 in Virginia, there was published in London, in the same year, a tract entitled “The Relation of the Barbarous Massacre in Time of Peace and League, treacherously executed by the native infidels upon the English, the Twenty-second of March, 1622, published by Authority.” The general trend of the tract is to show the good that might result to the plantation from this disaster. Number five of the possible results reads: “Because the Indians, who before were used as friends, may now most justly be compelled to servitude in mines, and the like, of whom some may be sent for the use of the Summer Islands.”2


The policy advocated by the tract was carried out in succeeding Indian wars in Virginia. The accounts of a certain Thomas Smallcomb, lieutenant at Fort Royal on Pamunkey, who was probably killed in the war with Opechancanough, show him possessed at the time of his death, 1646, of several Indian slaves.1 It seems probable that these slaves were captives in war. After his rebellion, 1676, Bacon sold some of his Indian prisoners.2 The rest were disposed of by Governor Berkeley.3


From the beginning of the colony, the settlers of Carolina were in trouble with the Indians. In September, 1671, war was declared against the Kussoe, a tribe on the southern frontier who posed as allies of the Spaniards, and who vexed the Carolina settlers with petty depredations. The Kussoe were quickly defeated, and the prisoners sent to be sold out of the colony, unless ransomed by their country men.4 During the war with the Stono Indians in 1680, the captive Indians were brought to Charleston and sold by Governor West to the traders in the colony to be carried to the West Indies as slaves.5


The breaking out of the war of the Spanish Succession in 1701 gave Governor Moore a chance to attack the Spanish Indians, capture and sell them under the excuse of the rules of war. Therefore, in 1702, he led a force of militia and Indians against St. Augustine, burned the city, and carried off, as slaves, whatever Indians he could obtain from the Spanish Indian villages along the way.1 A second attack on St. Augustine was made by Moore in 1704, with the purpose of destroying missions and carrying off slaves.2 An advance into the territories of the Apalachee resulted in the destruction of several missions, and the capture of more than a thousand Indians, some free, some slave.3 Nearly all the Apalachee were distributed as slaves among the Carolina settlers.4 The enslavement of Indians, indeed, was carried on wholesale. A letter to the proprietors, July 10, 1708, states that “the garrison of St. Augustine is by this war reduced to the bare walls, their cattle and Indian towns all consumed, either by us in our invasion of that place, or by our Indian subjects . . . they have driven the Floridians to the islands of the cape, have brought in and sold many hundred of them, and maybe now continue that trade, so that in some five years, they’ll reduce the barbarians to a fearless number.”5 In 1708, Colonel Barnwell of South Carolina made an expedition to the Appalachian province of Florida. It is thought that this was the time when Captain Nairn of South Carolina, with a party of Yamasee Indians, advanced to the vicinity of Lake Okechobee and brought back a number of captive Indians as slaves.6 A similar expedition of Colonel Palmer in 1727 against the Yamasee resulted in the destruction of many Indian towns, the slaughter of many natives, and the carrying off of great numbers to Charleston as slaves.1


As the result of the three expeditions sent by South Carolina from 1702 to 1708 against the Yamasee, Apalachee, and Timucua of northern Florida, there was carried back to Charleston, for sale as slaves, almost the entire population of seven towns, in all, some 1400 persons.2 The captives taken in 1715 when the Yamasee and Creek Indians made a foray upon the South Carolina frontier, were sold as slaves. Mr. Johnston, a South Carolina missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in his letter to the Society, December 19, 1715, states: “It is certain many of the Yammousees and Creek Indians were against the war all along. But our military men were so bent upon revenge, and so desirous to enrich themselves by making all the Indians slaves that fall into yr hands . . . . that it is in vain to represent the cruelty and injustice of such a procedure”.3


Throughout the Tuscarora War in North Carolina, Indian captives were retained or sold as slaves.4 At the beginning of military operations, following the Indian massacre of 1711, the friendly Indians agreed to help the English against their enemy upon promise of a reward of six blankets for each man killed by them, and the usual price of slaves for each woman and child delivered as captives.1 During the course of the war several hundred Indian allies were used by the English,2 and these allies took advantage of the opportunity to obtain large number of Indian captives to sell to the slave traders of the time.


In an attack on an Indian fort in 1711, thirty-nine women and children were captured and disposed of in the settlements as slaves.3 The two chief expeditions during the war were those of Colonel Barnwell, who was sent by South Carolina in January, 1712, and of Colonel Moore in January and February, 1713. Colonel Barnwell’s expedition took two hundred Indian women and children prisoners.4 The expedition of Colonel Moore virtually ended the war by capturing the fort in which the Tuscarora had taken refuge.5 Nine hundred men, women and children were killed or taken prisoners.6 In both expeditions the allied Indians secured as many as possible of the captured Indians whom they took along with them to sell as slaves in Charleston,7 and they still further increased their supply of slaves by attacking the peaceful Indians along the route of their return to South Carolina.8 During the course of the war more than seven hundred Indians were sold into slavery.9

con't here
Beginning of the book is here.



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John Bias, Amherst, to natural son Obadiah Knuckles

From Nansemond to Monacan
The Legacy of the Pochick-Nansemond among the
Bear Mountain Monacan
JAY HANSFORD C. VEST

Know all men by these presents that I John Bias of the County of
Amherst for and in consideration of the love and affection I bear to
my natural son Obadiah Knuckles as well as for consideration of one
dollar to me in hand paid before the ensealing . . . delivery of these
presents and more particularly for the continued kindness of the
said Obadiah Knuckles to me during a long affection and under the
belief of the continuance of the ... during my life here given and
granted and by these presents do give and grant unto the... Obadiah
Knuckles his heirs and assign forever the tract of land on which I
now live. Supposed to contain one hundred acres and adjoins the
lands of Richard S. Ellis, Talbert Noel and others. To have and to
hold the said tract of land unto him the said Obadiah Knuckles and
his heirs forever after my death and the said John Bias for himself
his Exers. and admrs. will warrant and defend the lands aforesaid
against the claim of all every person whomsoever witness my hand
and seal the 31st day of August 1835.
John x Byas


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Red Dirt Rising

But first the world's largest sport industry started here:

Click here to watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3R5p1V34pQ

By Tucker McLaughlin
The News & Record / August 04, 2009

South Boston Speedway fans were exposed briefly Saturday night to a new movie production, showcasing part of the early origins of southern stock car racing.

The movie is called, ‘Red Dirt Rising’.

Todd Morris, who lives in High Point, N.C., said the movie “is really based around the formation of NASCAR, as it popped up all through the Southeast. Some of the hot spots are based in High Point and some of the first tracks.

“The movie is based around (early southern racing figures) Jimmie Lewallen, Bill Blair and Fred Harb,” noted Morris. (Bill Blair Jr. raced in the Legendary Flatheads series at SBS last weekend, and his dad, Bill Blair Sr., won Daytona back in 1953).

The movie deals with selected North Carolina racing families before the sport became widely exposed as it is today. It’s escapist fare, and some old-time NASCAR fans, in particular, may appreciate the approach here.

Based on promotional materials for the film, ‘Red Dirt Rising’ tells the kind of story that should be interesting to tradition-minded NASCAR fans.

Based on a true story, the film shares with us a decade in the lives of Jimmie Lewallen and his wife Carrie as they experience the joys of love and marriage along side the tragedies of war and poverty (1939 - 1949).

Jimmie and his friends, Bill Blair and Fred Harb, find escape from life's challenges in racing - born out of hauling moonshine on warm North Carolina evenings - and inadvertently become racing's earliest heroes. Ultimately their antics laid the ground work for what has become one of the most lucrative sports in the world. A number of racing firsts occurred during the The Fightin' Forties, making this film a sensational history lesson as well as an exciting journey of romance, friendship and action.

Cont. here:
http://www.thenewsrecord.com/index.php/sports/article/red_dirt_rising/

Related:
http://www.reddirtrising.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=6#mce_temp_url#

Video here:

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Collins' Melungeon Star Quilt Barn

n

QUILT PATTERN

Melungeon Star

Sneedville,TN

Located in Sneedville, this waypoint along the Appalachian Quilt Trail is part of Hancock County, Tennessee within the East TN region.

Click here to see the barn.

http://www.vacationaqt.com/trail/waypoint/collins39-melungeon-star-quilt-barn.htm

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Cherokee Nation speakers at the Funk Heritage Center in Georgia

This event sounds like a not to be missed event for anyone who can possibly attend.

The following is from an email sent out by Michael Martinez, director of the Reinhardt College Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center in Waleska, GA. These events are part of the year-long series of events at the college based on the indigenous peoples of North America:

Gene Norris, Robert Lewis, and Gina Burnett will be arriving in Waleska Wednesday evening, Jan. 13 and returning to Oklahoma on Sat the 16th. On Thursday, Jan 14, Mr. Lewis and Ms. Burnett will speak in the library on the third floor at 1 p.m. Mr. Norris will speak that evening at the Funk Heritage Center at 7 p.m. These events are free, open to the public, and no reservations are required. (Also please note that you can become a fan of the Funk Heritage Center on Facebook.)


http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Waleska-GA/Funk-Heritage-Center/149287297310?ref=search&sid=1033419362.1549261626..1

Funk Heritage Center: Gene Norris will speak in the Estelle Bennett Hughes Theater. He is a Board certified genealogist specifically trained in tracing Cherokee ancestry. He is the senior genealogist with the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Certification for Genealogists in Washington, DC, the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc., the Goingsnake District Heritage Association, the National Genealogical Society, Member of the Board of the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Trail of Tears Association, the Cherokee-Moravian Historical Association and the Carroll County Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. He has actively been involved in genealogical research for twenty-three years and has been specifically concentrating on Cherokee genealogy since 1994.

More here:

http://trailofthetrail.blogspot.com/2010/01/cherokee-nation-speakers-at-funk.html


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Genealogists turning activists?

Have you considered how unfairly genealogists are being treated by those who are in possession of the records we need access to so badly? $20. to $30. for one record and being charged to even look at the records. Here's an organization seeking to change this situation.

Records Preservation and Access Committee

A joint committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies & the National Genealogical Society

White Paper Executive Summary Updated

January 1st, 2010 FredMoss

White Paper Executive Summary

As of 1 Sep 2009, the Executive Summary of the RPAC White Paper entitled “Open Access to Public Records: A Genealogical Perspective” was updated to more accurately reflect the purposes for which the white paper was developed last Spring.

The full White Paper originally posted on 26 Feb 2009 has been updated to reflect this change.

The link immediately above is to a two page document containing the cover page and the updated Executive Summary.

Permission is granted for genealogical organizations to locally reproduce in its entirety the attached PDF version of the Executive Summary.

Here is an example of what is being done in order to facilitate access to records:

The Office of Open Records in Pennsylvania on a case brought by a
genealogist who brought suit through the Office of Open Records
against the Philadelphia Marriage Bureau for their charging $20-$30
per record, charging for looking at a record, preventing use of a
digital camera, and limiting the number of records one may request at
a time. The case was decided July 31, 2009, and the plaintiff won on
some points and lost on others–per the Office of Open Records the
Philadelphia Marriage Bureau may only charge $2.00 per page plus $2.00
for certification, the Registrar may not charge to view the
record, no digital camera may be used to copy the records, the City
conceded on the number of requests at one time. Currently the City
would only provide certified copies and used that as part of the
reason for their high charges. The City of Philadelphia has notified
the parties that they will appeal their loss of the case in both in
both the Common Pleas and Commonwealth Courts. While the case is being
appealed the decision is in limbo. To read the decision go to:
http://openrecords.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/open_records
/4434/final_determinations/481690

What kind of experiences have you encountered? Click here to comment.

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